Due to
In model English, is it already acceptable to use "due to" to link a phrase to a main clause, a way that had been considered grammatically incorrect.
E.g.
He failed the exam due to laziness.
Thx.
Top answer
He failed the exam [ due to laziness ]. Yes, this is fine. Some of the more prescriptivist grammars insist that "due (to)" can only occur as complement to "be".
- He failed the exam [ due to laziness ].
- Yes, this is fine.
- Some of the more prescriptivist grammars insist that "due (to)" can only occur as complement to "be".
- But this is at odds with actual usage, where "due (to") is simply in competition with other preposition phrases such as "owing to" or "on account of", as in The match was cancelled [ due to / owing to / on account of bad weather ].
- where the bracketed phrase functions as a reason adjunct in clause structure.
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He failed the exam [due to laziness].
Yes, this is fine.
Some of the more prescriptivist grammars insist that "due (to)" can only occur as complement to "be". But this is at odds with actual usage, where "due (to") is simply in competition with other preposition phrases such as "owing to" or "on account of", as in
The match was cancelled [due to
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